COURTESY OF THE ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
More than two weeks into the coronavirus crisis, and the hospitality industry in St. Louis is rallying but hurting. Many jobs have already been lost, other employees have been furloughed, and restaurants are adjusting to curbside and delivery services. The picture is uncertain for many, but there is help out there at the government level, from business associations and grassroots fundraisers.
The Gateway Resilience Fund is offering grants to eligible restaurants, bars, and other small businesses forced to close due to the COVID-19 situation. Employees and essential contractors of those businesses are also eligible to apply for assistance, which can come in the form of lump-sum grants, as well as with direct help paying bills, for example. On Tuesday, commercial property developer Pace Properties announced it is making a $10,000 donation to the Gateway Resilience Fund. “The St. Louis Community Foundation was a natural partner when we decided we wanted to help some of the hardest-hit restaurant workers who are now unexpectedly unemployed,” Rick Dames, Pace Properties president and CEO, said in a statement. “We have worked with hundreds of restaurateurs throughout the years, and it’s vital we give back to our community.”
The St. Louis Regional Chamber continues to compile resources for small businesses affected by the crisis. (See this page for a list of funds and loan programs that may provide assistance to hospitality businesses.) Small businesses in the city and county can apply for zero-interest loans of up to $5,000 through the Small Business Resource Fund, administered by the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership and the St. Louis Development Corporation. Other local, federal, and private sector programs include the SBA Small Businesses Disaster Assistance Loans, Facebook Small Business Grants Program, and Illinois Emergency Small Business Grants and Loans Assistance.
The Bartender Emergency Assistance Program is run by the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild National Charity Foundation and offers relief to bartenders and their families during times of crisis.
Shrewsbury custom T-shirt printer Tiny Little Monster has launched a campaign called Here For Good (#HereForGoodSTL). The campaign has two threads: one for customers, one for small businesses. For customers, it’s simple; Tiny Little Monster will donate $10 of every $20 T-shirt sold to a local business of your choice, and the remainder will support Tiny Little Monster. For businesses, brands can send their logos to Tiny Little Monster, which will create branded T-shirts for sale. The store will print and ship the merchandise, and the proceeds will be divided between the store and the brand. Tiny Little Monster says there is no risk for brands, so any interested restaurant or bar owners should get in touch via this link.
Texas-based experiential marketing agency Topography has created the #ForkOffCorona campaign to raise funds for hospitality industry businesses and workers in need. Founders Courtney Cobb and Jessica Healey created a T-shirt designs for 10 cities across the United States. The cities are all places where Cobb and Healey have a personal connection; since Healey recently moved away from St. Louis, it was an obvious addition. “Our careers have been entrenched in the industry and the COVID-19 impact on the food/restaurant/alcohol industry is breaking our hearts,” Cobb said in a statement. All proceeds from T-shirt sales will be donated to city-specific relief funds. The amount donated per city will be proportional to how many of that city’s shirts are sold.
Topography is working with local chefs and restaurant partners to choose which St. Louis area relief fund will receive the proceeds. In St. Louis, the campaign is being spearheaded by Billy Foster and Kathy Kuper of Big O Ginger Liqueur, and Foster is giving the promotion financial backing. Topography is also partnering with Ted and Jamie Kilgore (of Planter’s House and Small Change) and Rick and Elisa Lewis (of Grace Meat + Three), who have been operating their own Grace Gives initiative to support out-of-work hospitality professionals.
To buy a T-shirt and for full details of featured cities, visit Topography’s website. You can also help the campaign by sharing with anyone you know in a featured city or posting using the hashtag #ForkOffCorona.
Other local initiatives include Eat IN STL, a donation-based recipe platform that was slated to raise funds for employees and owners of small businesses, including those in the hospitality industry. The initial plan was to invite submissions from local chefs to be featured on the platform. Unbeknownst to its creators, Jonathan and Stefani Pollack, Feast magazine was working on a similar program called Extra Helping (a community-sourced cookbook with proceeds going to Gateway Resilience Fund in St. Louis and Crossroads Community Kitchen in Kansas City) that launched just after Eat IN STL was announced. After careful consideration, the Pollacks decided to instead support Feast's effort (as both initiatives benefit the same organization) and redirect the Eat IN STL recipes to Extra Helping.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the Eat IN STL/Feast timeline.
Do you know about other local resources? Share them in the comments section below.
